Indigenous and Northern Affairs Committee on Dec. 8th, 2022

[Dan Vandal, Liberal, Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB]

—de facto the mandate of nutrition north, but it's to alleviate food insecurity.

[Eric Melillo, Conservative, Kenora, ON]

You haven't read the mandate of the nutrition north program. Is that correct? Is that what you just said?

[Dan Vandal, Liberal, Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB]

The purpose of nutrition north is to alleviate food insecurity.

[Eric Melillo, Conservative, Kenora, ON]

Is that explicitly in the mandate? Can you confirm that?

[Dan Vandal, Liberal, Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB]

The mandate of nutrition north is to alleviate food insecurity.

[Eric Melillo, Conservative, Kenora, ON]

Okay. Thank you. I'm sorry for the confusion. I think it would have been easier—

[Dan Vandal, Liberal, Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB]

I wasn't confused. You were confused.

[Eric Melillo, Conservative, Kenora, ON]

—if you'd said that from the get-go, Minister.

I think that's pretty much my time, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Marc Garneau]

You have about 10 seconds left, Mr. Melillo.

[Eric Melillo, Conservative, Kenora, ON]

I don't think I can get much of an answer in 10 seconds.

Thank you, Minister, for your time.

[The Chair, Liberal, Marc Garneau]

Thank you, Mr. Melillo.

Mr. McLeod, you have five minutes.

[Michael McLeod, Liberal, Northwest Territories, NT]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I'm listening to the discussion with very, very keen interest. There's a lot of focus in the supplementary estimates on what the department is doing to address food insecurity. This issue has been around for a long time. It's good to hear that there are new options out there. There are new investments for greenhouses and for hunters and trappers, and there's an expanded program, but I think it's going to take more than just one government to deal with food insecurity. It's also going to take more than just addressing some of these programs through nutrition north. It's going to take a whole-of-government approach. I've been saying this for a long time. I know you've heard me say it before.

Having roads that go to our communities would eliminate the need for nutrition north in a lot of them. We have quite a few communities that don't have roads yet. All the communities along the Mackenzie Valley Highway are not accessible by road. Many of them are only able to get freight by plane. Even then, because some of our runways are not long enough, the plane can land with only half a load. That's the same with passengers too, by the way. Landing and takeoff restrictions really impact us in the north.

When we talk about food insecurity and the cost of living, transportation infrastructure is a big part of it. Can you explain how the government has approached dealing with the cost of living in our small communities? How are we dealing with investment to build better accessibility in small communities?

We had an investment for the road to Whatì. That has been a game-changer for the community. People can get out of the community to go into the larger regional centres, and they can be back that same evening. The cost of living has gone down too, but there are other communities where you can't get out. You sometimes have only six weeks to get a new fridge or a new larger piece of merchandise. It's very challenging.

I'll give you some time to respond.

[Dan Vandal, Liberal, Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB]

Thank you for that question. It's a very important one. It's at the heart of what we're trying to do.

We've talked a lot about housing. Infrastructure is the same thing. We need to invest more dollars with the territorial governments for things like road construction. We have budgetary items. We have the northern transportation initiatives, which have application-based funding envelopes for the different communities so they can apply for transportation corridor funding. I know that has shown some benefit in the past. We need to do more of that to make sure more communities have road access for transportation. You're absolutely right that this would be of great benefit given affordability and food security issues.

I agree with you that the road to Whatì was a game-changer, and I'm glad we were able to partner to get that done. That's front and centre in our platform and a constant part of our communications and consultations with the territories. We can't do this alone. The territories need to be driving it. They're the representation of the people who live there, along with indigenous governments.

We are absolutely committed to continuing the investment. We've made some progress, but there is a long way to go.

[Michael McLeod, Liberal, Northwest Territories, NT]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

My last question is regarding—

[The Chair, Liberal, Marc Garneau]

Mr. McLeod, you have about 30 seconds for the question and answer.

[Michael McLeod, Liberal, Northwest Territories, NT]

Okay. I'll just ask the minister to speak a bit about how CanNor is benefiting the north, especially during the pandemic.

[Dan Vandal, Liberal, Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB]

We know that CanNor has been invaluable during the pandemic. It's the agency that provided relief not only for individuals but for businesses during the very difficult two years we all went through. It's been unprecedented. It is now playing a very significant part in the recovery by partnering, having ears to the ground and investing in businesses so they can grow and create jobs.

[The Chair, Liberal, Marc Garneau]

Thank you, Mr. McLeod.

We'll now go to Madame Gill.

Go ahead for two and a half minutes, Mrs. Gill.

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Minister, I'm going to continue with my questions on the funding granted to reduce food insecurity. I'd like to go back to the whole-of-government cooperative arrangement.

Was there a structure before a number of departments announced a cooperative arrangement to develop a plan, for example? One single year isn't long enough to resolve this issue.

Are any formal discussions under way among a number of departments, within a single structure, to answer the question that I hope should lead to a plan?

[Dan Vandal, Liberal, Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB]

Yes, that's definitely one of our government's priorities, and I'm working closely with the Minister of Indigenous Services and the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations. The latter will be here later to explain how we can—

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Yes, but has he really—

[Dan Vandal, Liberal, Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB]

He'll be here to explain how we can meet food challenges in difficult times, but also—

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Pardon me, Minister. I really have only two minutes, but that doesn't answer my question.

I'd like to know if there really is a structure, a formal roundtable, where a number of ministers and departments are meeting to develop a plan to reduce, or even defeat, food insecurity.

You said you were taking a whole-of-government approach, and, obviously, if you're responsible, you don't want that to be left to chance.

So is there a formal structure whose purpose is to resolve the issue?

[Dan Vandal, Liberal, Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB]

We're working closely with the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food and other departments, such as the Department of Transport and Infrastructure Canada, to address food security deficiencies. There's a lot of communication going on among us. Our teams are working closely with them to—

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Is there a formal structure, with a plan? Does that exist?